The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to an electromagnetic EM probe and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to an EM probe for transmission and/or reception of electromagnetic radiation and a method of generating the EM probe.
EM radiation, such as RF and MW radiation, is a useful means of monitoring and diagnosing body tissues. The dielectric properties of the tissues may be a basis of detecting various pathologies and physiological trends.
Examples for using RF and MW radiation for monitoring and diagnosing body tissues are found, inter alia, in International patent application pub. No WO 2010/100649, International patent application pub. No WO 2009/031150, and/or International patent application pub. No 2009/031149, which are incorporated herein by reference.
During the last years, various EM probes have been developed. For example U.S. Pat. No. 7,184,824 describes an EM probe for examining tissue in order to differentiate it from other tissue according to the dielectric properties of the examined tissue. The EM probe includes an inner conductor, having a plurality of sharp, thin, conductive spikes, at a proximal end with respect to a tissue for examination, the plurality of sharp, thin, conductive spikes being operative to enhance the electrical fringe fields, where interaction with the tissue for examination occurs.
Another example is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,591,792 which describes: a tissue sensors house for one or more sensor elements. Each element has a housing mounted substrate and a superstrate with a planar antenna between. A transitional periphery (TP) of a superstrate outer surface interconnects a base to a plateau. At least some of the TP has a generally smooth transition. Plural elements are spaced by the housing. Alternately, the superstrate TP is flat, the housing extends to the outer superstrate surface and a shield surrounds the element. The housing is flush with or recessed below the superstrate and defines a TP between the housing and superstrate. A method converts a reference signal to complex form; plots it in a complex plane as a reference point (RP); converts a measurement signal to complex form; plots it in the complex plane as a measurement point (MP); determine a complex distance between the MP and the RP; and compares complex distance to a threshold.